NASCAR Cup Series

Kenseth survived to finish 20th at Talladega, seven spots behind Jimmie Johnson. Kenseth’s four point lead became a four point deficit to Jimmie Johnson in the standings.

At the conclusion of the Bank of America 500, fans were raving about the finish and seemed generally satisfied. The first 300 laps though featured very little passing with rare, evanescent battles but the enthralling fight for the win still made it a good race in the eyes of many.

Usually, one gets a general perspective on how a driver has been performing recently by taking a look at his past ten efforts. Ten, a nice round number that just so happens to also be the exact number of races in the Chase. You would think, barring adjustments for pre-Chase bonuses, it might give you an idea how things are going for those chasing a championship. You would think.

Talladega Recap: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver Jamie McMurray drove to his seventh-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victory and first of the 2013 season at Talladega Superspeedway. The No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet SS donned additional branding by carrying the colors of the local Auburn University for its first appearance in victory lane.

Biffle has 21 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville. In those starts he has earned four top-10 finishes.

Maurice Petty used his engine-building skills to earn a spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, but Sunday he will be honored for his short, but successful career as a driver.

Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion, heads to this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway 12th in the point standings, trailing leader Jimmie Johnson by 75 points. Logano was this week’s guest on the NASCAR teleconference.

In 18 starts at the 0.526-mile track, Edwards has one top-five and five top-10 finishes. His average start is 17.6, and his average finish is 16.1. Edwards has completed 98 percent (8851 of 9034) of laps in Cup competition attempted at Martinsville Speedway.

This weekend, Marcos Ambrose and the No. 9 DEWALT team return to the .526-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway where in April the team scored its first top-10 of the year.

Coming off a top-10 finish at the fast and wild Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, David Ragan is ready to hit the brakes at the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Ragan's No. 34 Taco Bell team tested for two days at the .526-mile oval earlier this month in a new Front Row Motorsports-built car. Their preps have them ready to go 500 laps in Sunday's Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500.